Oct. 19, 2007
John Yembrick
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-0602
john.yembrick-1@nasa.gov
Kylie Clem
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
kylie.s.clem@nasa.gov
RELEASE: 07-229
NASA ASSIGNS CREW FOR FINAL SOLAR ARRAY DELIVERY TO STATION
WASHINGTON -- NASA has assigned the space shuttle crew for Discovery's
STS-119 mission, targeted for launch in the fall of 2008. The flight
will deliver the final pair of power- generating solar array wings
and truss element to the International Space Station.
Air Force Col. Lee J. Archambault will command Discovery. Navy Cmdr.
Dominic A. Antonelli will serve as the pilot. The mission specialists
are Joseph Acaba, Richard R. Arnold II, John L. Phillips and Steven
R. Swanson. Antonelli, Acaba and Arnold will be making their first
spaceflight.
STS-119 will be the second spaceflight for Archambault and Swanson,
who flew together on STS-117 in June. Phillips will be making his
third spaceflight.
Discovery will carry the S6 truss segment to complete the
361-foot-long backbone of the space station. The truss includes the
fourth pair of solar array wings and electronics that convert
sunlight to power for the orbiting laboratory.
Archambault considers Bellwood, Ill., his hometown. He was the pilot
for STS-117. He earned a bachelor's and a master's in aeronautical
and astronautical engineering from the University of Illinois-Urbana.
He was selected as an astronaut in 1998.
Antonelli grew up in Indiana and North Carolina. He earned a
bachelor's and a master's in aeronautics and astronautics from
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, and the University
of Washington, Seattle, respectively. He has been a CAPCOM, or
capsule communicator, during launch and landing of space shuttle
missions. He was selected as an astronaut in 2000.
Acaba was raised in Anaheim, Calif. He earned a bachelor's and a
master's in geology from the University of California, Santa Barbara,
and the University of Arizona, Tucson, respectively. He has middle
school and high school math and science teaching experience. He was
selected as an astronaut in 2004.
Arnold, raised in Bowie, Md., earned a bachelor's degree in science
and completed the teacher certification program at Frostburg State
University, Md. He earned a master's in marine, estuarine and
environmental science from the University of Maryland, College Park.
He has teaching experience at middle schools and high schools around
the world. He served as a mission specialist for the 13th NASA
Extreme Environments Mission Operations, known as NEEMO, in August
2007. He was selected as an astronaut in 2004.
Phillips considers Scottsdale, Ariz., his hometown. He has logged more
than 190 days in space, including STS-100 and Expedition 11 on the
space station. He earned a bachelor's in mathematics and Russian from
the U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Md., a master's in aeronautical
systems from the University of West Florida, Pensacola, and a
master's and a doctorate in geophysics and space physics from the
University of California, Los Angeles. He retired as a Navy reservist
captain in 2002. He was selected as an astronaut in 1996.
Swanson grew up in Steamboat Springs, Colo. He earned a bachelor's in
engineering physics from the University of Colorado, Boulder, a
master's in applied science in computer systems from Florida Atlantic
University, Boca Raton, and a doctorate in computer science from
Texas A&M University, College Station. He joined NASA as a systems
engineer for the shuttle training aircraft in 1987 and was selected
as an astronaut in 1998.
Members of the STS-119 crew were originally announced in 2002, but as
a result of changes in the flight manifest, new crew assignments were
necessary.
Video of the STS-119 crew members will air on NASA Television's Video
File. For downlink and scheduling information and links to streaming
video, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/ntv
For complete astronaut biographical information, visit:
http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios
For more information about NASA's Space Shuttle Program, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle
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